No. 10 Michigan to Host Brown, Gonzaga and Tulsa for ITA Kick-Off

» Michigan hosts Gonzaga, Brown and Tulsa in the ITA Kick-Off this weekend at the Varsity Tennis Center. The winner of the weekend will receive a berth to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship.
» It is the eighth straight season that U-M has hosted the ITA Kickoff and the Wolverines are looking for their ninth consecutive berth to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship.
» The matches this weekend are part of a four-match homestand to open the season for the Wolverines.

THIS WEEK
Sat-Sun., Jan. 27-28 -- host ITA Kick-Off (Varsity Tennis Center)
Saturday, Jan. 27 -- Michigan vs. Gonzaga, 10 a.m.
Saturday, Jan. 27 -- Brown vs. Tulsa, 2 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 28 -- Consolation match, 9:30 a.m.
Sunday, Jan. 28 -- Championship match, 1 p.m.
Live Scoring/Video

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The No. 10-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team (1-0) returns to the Varsity Tennis Center this weekend (Jan. 27-28) to host the ITA Kick-Off for the eighth straight season. Joining Michigan for the two-day event are Tulsa (4-1), Brown (1-0) and Gonzaga (1-0). Admission is free to all matches at the VTC.

ABOUT THE ITA KICKOFF WEEKEND
The No. 1-seeded team (Michigan) at each site will face the No. 4 team (Gonzaga). The No. 2 team (Tulsa) will face the No. 3 team (Brown). Two matches are guaranteed -- the winners/losers will play the following day. The 15 schools that win both of their matches at these events will be invited to play in the Feb. 9-12 ITA National Team Indoor Championship in Madison, Wisconsin.

Ranked Singles Players
No. 33 -- Kate Fahey (U-M)
No. 74 -- Chiara Lommer (U-M)
No. 103 -- Nevada Apollo (Gonzaga)
No. 122 -- Martina Okalova (Tulsa)

Ranked Doubles Team
No. 53 -- Haruna Tsuruta/Alex Bourguignon (Gonzaga)

WOLVERINE BITES

• Michigan is looking for its ninth straight ITA National Team Indoor Championship berth, having made an appearance at the national event in every season since 2010. This year's championship (Feb. 9-12) will be held in Madison, Wisconsin.

• U-M is coming off a 6-1 win over Kansas on Sunday (Jan. 21). Michigan claimed the doubles point and five of six singles matches to win its season opener for the 10th straight year. Junior Kate Fahey clinched the match with a straight-set win at No. 1.

• Tulsa (4-1) comes to Ann Arbor after dropping a 4-3 match at No. 18 Arkansas on Jan. 23. It is the third time in the last five seasons that the Golden Hurricane has come to Ann Arbor for the Kick-Off. Tulsa features one ranked player in No. 122 Martina Okalova.

• Brown (1-0) is back at Michigan for the Kick-Off for the first time since the 2012-13 season. The Bears are coming off a 7-0 victory at Rhode Island on Sunday (Jan. 21).

• Gonzaga (1-0) knocked off Montana State, 7-0, on Sunday (Jan. 21) to start dual-match play. The Bulldogs have the No. 53-ranked doubles pair of Haruna Tsuruta and Alex Bourguignon, along with No. 103-ranked Nevada Apollo on the singles side.

• Michigan features a pair of Wolverines with double-digit singles wins in sophomore Chiara Lommer (15) and junior Kate Fahey (10).

• Freshman Alyvia Jones (four straight), junior Kate Fahey (four straight) and freshman Bella Lorenzini (five straight) hold Michigan's longest active winning streaks in singles action.

• After picking up a win over Kansas at the Varsity Tennis Center last weekend, Michigan is now 116-10 at home under 11th-year head coach Ronni Bernstein.

• The Wolverines will complete their four-match homestand to open the season next weekend, hosting Duke on Feb. 3. Following that match against the Blue Devils, U-M will not be back at the Varsity Tennis Center until March 25.

NCAA RULES
Each team match will be a contest for the best of seven team points. Doubles action will begin immediately with no warmup, so fans are encouraged to arrive on time for matches. In addition, each doubles match will be one set to six, with a tiebreaker occurring at 6-all. The team that wins two of three matches will secure the doubles point. Following a five-minute intermission, singles action will begin with each match worth one point toward the team score. There will be no-ad scoring in both singles and doubles action. In addition, there is to be no noise made between first and second serves this season as part of new ITA sportsmanship guidelines.